Bengaluru realtor murder: ex-gangster-turned-businessman among 2 more arrested in case where MLA Byrathi Basavaraj is accused

V G Shivaprakash alias Bikla Shiva, 44, was killed outside his house on a public street near the Halasuru Lake on the evening of July 15 by a gang of armed assailants. The Bengaluru police had named Byrathi Basavaraj, 63, and a local gangster, Jaga, 45, with whom the MLA is closely associated, among the five accused in the FIR.

The arrest of Ajeeth Kumar, 45, and Anil R D, 40, brings the total number of persons accused in the case to 19.

Ajeeth Kumar, who was listed as an East Bengaluru “rowdy” till 2016 before his name was removed on the directions of the Karnataka High Court, is considered to be a close associate of Byrathi Basavaraj, the BJP MLA from the K R Pura Assembly constituency in East Bengaluru, who is also an accused in the July 15 murder case.

Anil R D, who was earlier questioned by the Bengaluru police in connection with the supply of a Scorpio car that was used for transportation during the execution of the murder of the real estate operator on a busy street, is reported to be a relative of the BJP MLA.

Anil was also questioned for several hours by the Bengaluru police soon after the murder over the use of a Scorpio in the murder. The police said at the time that Anil had rejected a request by a key accused in the murder, Kiran K, for the supply of a car which was used to transport the assailants for the murder.

The white Scorpio was seized by the Bengaluru police after the murder, and was found to originally belong to a person identified as Reddappa M, who is reported to have sold the car to a second-hand buyer.

Who is Ajeeth Kumar?
Ajeeth Kumar is a close associate of Jaga, who is the main accused in the July 15 murder of Bikla Shiva.

Jaga and Ajeeth are considered close associates and fronts for Byrathi Basavaraj’s real estate business operations. Social media pictures indicate the MLA and the two men travelled together with other associates to Prayagraj for the Kumbh Mela earlier this year.

Soon after the probe into the murder of Bikla Shiva revealed his possible role, Ajeeth Kumar moved a court in Bengaluru for a gag order against false reporting by several media outlets.

Before his arrest on Monday, his properties were searched by the CID in September, and he was later questioned over the murder case.

Ajeeth Kumar, who was summoned for questioning by the Bengaluru police and CID, allegedly financed Jaga in planning and executing the murder. Jaga was apprehended based on an Interpol Blue Notice in Jakarta and was subsequently arrested upon deportation in August.

CID said its investigations into the case have found that Jaga’s escape from Bengaluru on July 15, soon after the murder, and his travel initially from Chennai to Dubai and later to Jakarta and Colombo and back to Jakarta, was financed by the businessman through intermediaries.

A stay at a resort near Bengaluru for the main accused during the planning phase of the murder was also allegedly financed by the businessman. The investigations by the CID have established the trail for the financing of the crime, sources said.

Ajeeth Kumar’s name featured in the Ramamurthy Nagar police station rowdy list from 2010 to 2016 and was later removed on the directions of the Karnataka HC. He was known as ‘Malayali Ajeeth’ when he was part of the rowdy lists in East Bengaluru over a decade ago and is known to have taken officers of organised crime units to court during investigations.

He is the chairman of a real estate firm V Group, and also an advocate on record in a couple of gang-related crime cases in Bengaluru. He was the producer of the 2022 big-budget Kannada film Ravi Bopanna.

The presence of Jaga and Ajeeth at launch events for Ravi Bopanna, starring the Kannada star Ravichandran, who is also a filmmaker, is also recorded on social media. Ajeeth has also acted as a legal representative for Jaga since August this year.

Invocation of KCOCA
The CID has invoked the stringent Karnataka Control of Organised Crime Act (KCOCA), 2009, in the murder case, which does not allow the grant of anticipatory bail, allows police custody of the arrested accused for 30 days, and sets the charge sheet filing time at 180 days against the arrested accused.

The Karnataka High Court granted Byrathi Basavaraj protection against coercive action on August 12.

The CID has moved the Karnataka HC to withdraw the protection granted against arrest to Basavaraj, citing the alleged non-cooperation of the MLA in the police investigations.

Byrathi Basavaraj is the first elected representative to be linked to a KCOCA case in Karnataka on account of the invoking of the stringent act in the Bikla Shiva murder case.

The MLA, who has challenged the invocation of KCOCA in the case, also filed an application last week for anticipatory bail in the event of the HC sustaining the invocation of KCOCA in the case. The senior counsel for the BJP MLA has argued that KCOCA was invoked prematurely.

In objections filed in the HC to the challenge of the invoking of KCOCA, the CID has stated that investigations have unearthed a close association between the BJP MLA and the prime accused in the murder case, Jagadish P alias Jaga.

The police have said the MLA was in touch, personally and through close associates, with gangsters linked to the murder, both before and after the crime.

The police have also cited an evidentiary statement given by the mother of the victim regarding the MLA’s role in a property dispute with her son, V G Shivaprakash, as reasons to sustain the case and KCOCA charges.

Ajeeth Kumar, who was produced in court on Monday, contested his arrest on the grounds that he enjoys special privileges as an advocate, as indicated in a recent Supreme Court order.

He argued that there was no communication about his arrest and that it was against the norms prescribed by the Supreme Court. He also argued that he had filed a vakalath on behalf of the main accused in the high court and sessions court and enjoys privileges accorded to advocates of accused persons.

The special public prosecutor argued that special privileges would not apply in this case, as Ajeeth Kumar is identified as an accused on the basis of investigation and not on the grounds of being an advocate for the accused.

The special court for elected representatives granted interim bail for a day on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh to the businessman and posted the matter for arguments on the legality of arrest to Tuesday.
The court, meanwhile, remanded Anil R D to 10 days in police custody.